About

I also have a strong sense for the human, cultural, and biological side of geography. I love humans from the histones that control access to our DNA, to the large scale evolution of human populations, to the interactions between the different nations and civilizations in international affairs. Growing up in the most diverse city per capita, and going to the second most diverse high school in the nation (Bartlett High School) exposed me to almost all the cultures, religions, and peoples of the known world. I went to church in Hmong, grew up with Samoans, lived on the Navajo or Dineh Reservation, and  served two years of volunteer service in the Western Balkans. I have the heart and soul of an anthropologist, biologist, religious and ethnic studies professor, and a military historian. I hold a  deep love of history and the patterns that guide it. I think that is why I was led to geography. I love the world, I want to serve it, but I could not be a history teacher. Being a geographer and GIS analyst allows me to combine all these interests and passions into a neat package of skills and degrees. If I could be the next Jared Diamond the world's preeminent biogeographer, human geographer, and science communicator, or the next George Friedman, I would love to do that.